So, what is Microlearning?

Let say your sales reps might need access to product specs before meeting a remote client; or may be your workforce at a hazardous site might need safety tips — what can be done when employees need timely access to precise information, minus desktops?

The answer is, yes you guessed it right it is Microlearning (bite-sized learning). Microlearning (bite-sized learning) offers short, focused learning nuggets, that can be accessed on mobiles. Microlearning also comes in a wide range of formats. In addition, microlearning helps in improving retention rate, bypassing the forgetting curve of learners. And above all, microlearning is not only compact—it’s also focused offering, just the right amount of information necessary to help a learner achieve a specific, actionable objective. This makes microlearning in business contexts especially valuable. Various types of microlearning can be easily integrated in eLearning solutions to cater to the tailored needs of new-age learners.

How can you deliver effective learning content?

Let us go down to day to day activity. Do you watch videos? Do you play games in a virtual environment or do you listen to podcast? Do you know all of these can be employed to create mind boggling microlearning content?

Let’s deep dive into each of these aspects?

The first one in the list is Video

Videos in this aspect tops the chart. The reason is simple when it comes to learners, they love to watch them. 95% of the learners choose video as an option because they are compatible across multiple devices, readily built and effective. These take learners to the visual journey they love and help them retain and absorb concepts with ease.

According to a recent study conducted by Wharton Research Centre, the average person retains only 10 percent of what they hear, but 50 percent of what they see.

Interactive videos enhance the microlearning experiences in plethora of ways such as:

• Videos can be watched from anywhere, anytime, even outside the learning environment as per the learner’s convenience
• Visual cues are appealing to learner’s sensory-based learning preferences, which in turn increases retention rates.
• Videos can depict in numerous number of to-do-lists, tasks and assessments and what not.

The second one in the list is Interactivities

I must say that interactivities provide great opportunity for communications, that require high-level decision-making and critical thinking skills. To make interactivities effective, organizations must first identify their target audience and then smartly integrate web-based paths to provide content and boost efficiency and develop fun activities associated with the course. Interactivities in microlearning engage more learners with the help of activities:

• Interactive videos grab maximum attention of learners with the on-screen elements.
• Branching scenarios require learners to choose an action that helps decision making easier.
• Hands-on elements help learners to do things and develop understanding of the content.

The third in the list is Blogs

There are zillions of blogs written on billions of topics. In the context of microlearning, blogs are much more than a mere reading material. They are interactive and easily assessible from anywhere that facilitate learning. Blogs are informative, concise and appealing at the same time. They have multiple usage in the modern learning approach, including:

• Blogs open the discussions digitally on a global scale.
• Trainers create blogs and articles to keep learners, informed about new trends and assessments.
• Blogs summarize the content, focusing on important and trending topics and practices to be followed.

The fourth in the list is Podcasts

Podcasts are tools that help improve learner’s retention of training content by sharing the required content in audio file. Since., it’s an audio file it can be easily shared on various MP3 files through varied cloud-based services. With microlearning (bite-sized learning), podcasts fits in best with the overall learning content.

There are many other benefits of podcasts while using microlearning, they are as follows:

• Podcasts can easily feature industry experts, organizational leaders, and other specialists.
• These serve as a tool that learners can review as per their convenience and requirement.
• Podcasts are portable as content is assessible on iPods, iPhones, and other mobile devices as well.

The fifth in the list is Social Media

Social media and microlearning makes an inevitable mix these days, because learners look for the same thing in both, snippets of information. Most of the social media websites such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are perfect platforms to publish micro content. Social media increases learner engagement through the following activities:

• Social media presents an opportunity for learners to interact in real-me scenario with industry experts and leaders.
• Trainers can share the training material on platforms like Facebook, SlideShare, Instagram or Pinterest and even host an entire course on a specific platform.
• Daily tips help learners keep engaged during the whole training session.

So, leverage technology-enabled learning for your training needs and make it compact, focussed and valuable through Conscience. Contact Us and evaluate how Conscience Information Technologies can assist in creating and distributing a powerful and innovative e-Learning courseware!

About the author: Anirban is a marketeer with 5+ years of experience and handles the sales and marketing activities of Conscience Information Technologies. He is crazy about writing blogs.

About Conscience: Conscience is a full services eLearning and educa...

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